The Schbieker Chronicles
by Shadowngel
Summary: Hilde hits Sweet Sixteen...But when she mysteriously disappears, leaving a worried Duo behind, the whole gang must find her before its too late. (Chapter 4 uploaded- Duo finds an anonymous savior and Hilde realizes how much her life is at stake.)
1. Where's Hilde

Disclaimer: I don't own Hilde, Duo, or anything that has to do with Gundam Wing. Anyway, I did this under the influence of no other fics, meaning I am dong this based on my ideas and my ideas alone. If any of my stories resemble any others in any way, it is purely by coincidence. Oh and if you think I'm trying to copy Katsu's style of writing, don't. I admire her too much to do that. She's an awesome writer, even though I AM a little squeamish about the yaoi part of her story, it is still the greatest fic I have ever read. So no suing, flaming or being stupid. Get it? Got it? Good. ^_^.  
And yes I'm a non-yaoi, meaning I'm not against it (freedom of speech, people. You have no right to flame yaoi authors. You don't want to read yaoi, then don't), but I AM super squeamish about it (in turn it means you have no right to flame me either).

Author's note: This story is from Hilde and Duo's point of view. It switches back and forth. 

The Schbieker Chronicles   
By Shadow@ngel 

_Sweet sixteen came too soon for Hilde..._

  
  


Part 1: Where's Hilde?

You know, I was never really important until I met Duo Maxwell. I was just an Oz solder, obeying every command, doing everything right and being Miss perfect. I was considered a prime example to the new recruits of what a real Oz soldier was supposed to be. It was the same every day. Nothing changing, just a normal routine .  
And it was like that for years, until Duo strut straight into my life and happily took me strutting with him. He made the difference in my life. He made me realized just who I was and who I should've been fighting with in the first place. He let me know that we weren't enemies. And I couldn't resist him.  
He's got charm that even managed to reach me, of all people. He helped me so much, I'll never be able to thank him.  
But that's exactly the problem. All the things he did left me in his shadow, and no one ever recognized the little German girl who sneaked onto Libra and stole crucial files.  
It sincerely hurts when it comes down to that. And the worst part is, you can't even let anyone know you're hurting until it's a little too late.   
Let me tell you that I'm not exactly who you think I am. You probably think that I'm a polite, easy to bend and break girl. But I'm not, and because of Duo's shadow, I'll never be able to show anyone the REAL me.  
I wanted to change that so bad, that when I hit sweet sixteen, things began to fall apart.  
It mostly started at the surprise birthday party everyone was so obviously planning for me. Considering Duo was unknowingly blurting out hints every three words, of course I'd know. I'm pretty perceptive for my age, believe me.  
Anyway, the birthday was going to be at Four in the afternoon. Duo was supposed to take me out to a restaurant or something and stall me while everyone got ready at the party. Lessee… Trowa was supposed to get the decorations, Quatre the cake, Heero the guest list and the invitations, and finally, Wufei handled everything else: all the miscellaneous stuff. See? You can't keep anything from Hilde. It was kind of hard to imagine Trowa, Heero and Wufei singing 'Happy Birthday.' But if they actually did, I'd be terrified.  
So we were going down to the movie theater in Relena's …pink car. (Duo resisted at first, but Relena insisted that she get us there. "It was the least I could do!" she said. Pheh. Poor Duo.) It was bad enough that his braid made him look like a girl. Now a pink car? Oh, it was too good a deal to pass up. This was for all the practical jokes he played on me.  
The air conditioning was up full blast and it was getting super cold in the back of that car. I started rubbing my arms to keep warm. Duo, it looked like, wasn't doing any better. His teeth were chattering loudly. Luckily, Pagan looked in the rear view mirror and noticed us.  
The little window in front of us lowered and Pagan started to speak.  
"Miss Schbieker, Mr. Maxwell, are you all right?" he asked. I could see his eyes in the mirror, no doubt he could see mine.  
"C-C-Cold! Turn off the conditioner, wouldja?"  
"Before we turn into icicles?" Duo remarked. I shook my head. Typical Duo. At least I wasn't the one who had to take the extra twenty minutes to stay in the bath and THEN refused to use the hair dryer. I had never EVER met a guy who cared about split ends. Neither did I know you COULD get split ends that way. Hm, it wasn't so bad having a guy friend like that. It was nice. I mean, in a friend-ish kind of way.  
But before we could do anything, we pulled up to the building. I was very relieved at that point. If I had stayed in that car any longer, I didn't know whether I would die form freezing to death or from listening to Duo whine about it.  
No, he doesn't really whine. I'm just exaggerating. Really, I am.  
"Thanks Pagan." I waved to him as he turned and drove off. He didn't say good-bye or anything. I wasn't expecting he would ether, so it was okay with me. Duo didn't notice, as usual. He was busy looking at all the movie flicks being played at the moment. He was eyeing a certain action movie that I had sworn on my life I would never watch. It was one of those macho guy movies that girls HAVE to avoid at any cost.  
I, however, was eyeing a certain romance movie. Yes, the kind that guys will avoid at any cost. And it was then and there that I knew we'd never get into the movie theater.  
"How 'bout this one?"  
"No."  
"…"  
"I said no. I hate those kinds of movies."  
"Well, there ain't no way in hell I'm going to watch any of those warm and fuzzy feeling movies. Fuzzy is right. You might as well cough up a hairball while you're at it." He was being kind of serious (serious as he'll ever get anyway.) but I laughed all the same.  
"Fine. Just this once. I'll probably be at the snack shack all day." He shrugged. "Oh stop it. I'm just joking."  
"Okay then! Crimson Capes it is!" He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the ticket booth where he mysteriously ran out of money. He was short only a few bucks, but it was still annoying. It was my birthday and I had to use my snack money to help my best friend pay for the tickets. (The bastard) I thought and smirked, leafing through the money I had stashed away in my left sock. What I had left was just enough to pay for some M&M's or something. I had only brought so much money. Like eight bucks or something. Hey- I didn't know I was going to use it for tickets.  
I sighed and trudged straight through the doors into what was going to be nothing but exactly one hour and 45 minutes of hell…

Well it turned out that I didn't really have to sit there ALL that long. I escaped every now and then by dumping the snacks I bought under the seat and claiming I ate them all. I got away, having Duo to think that I was going out to get more snacks. That I was, but still, at least I could get out of it for a little while rather than watching the whole thing.  
Here's where the whole thing began. I was sitting down on a bench outside the doors when three people walked up to me with solemn looks on their faces. I stopped in mid-chew of a stubborn gummy bear.  
"Excuse me miss, are you Hilde Seb-iker?" I nearly choked on it. Darnit, that was the fifth time someone mispronounced my name today, alone. I could have marched straight home, came back, and shot them through the head with a pistol.  
"Yes, and that's Schbieker." I swallowed the gummy whole. The chair creaked. I accidentally hit my foot against it as I stood up.  
(Ow…) I thought. I rubbed my toe with my other foot, but still kept eye contact with the lead man.  
"Is there something I can help you with?" I could see my face in the reflection of one of the badges they wore. Seemed that I looked more worried than I thought.  
I felt a little suspicious of them. After all, not every day would some guys in suits come walking up to you and mispronounce your name. Really, though. It was unnerving.  
"We need you to come with us." He took off his pair of glasses and wiped them on his shirt. Well, at least that made me feel a little better. That gesture suddenly made me feel like he was a human, so I relaxed my shoulders. I hadn't even known I was getting stiff. I didn't need to see myself to know how bad I looked.  
"What..?" I said. I was a little surprised at their command. "I'm kind of busy today."  
"Miss-,"  
"Schbeiker." I said, interrupting him. I could tell he was getting annoyed, because the side of his mouth was starting to twitch.  
"Miss Schbieker. We need you. Now." That got my attention right away. Just the seriousness in his voice caused me to stop. I turned back toward them, suddenly remembering that Duo was still waiting for me in our seats.  
"O-Okay. But need to tell Duo. He'll need to know I'm going somewhere. I'll be quick," I said. I really hadn't known what inside of me made me say yes. I jogged toward the doors of the room, but someone abruptly grabbed my arm. I paused. That was the last straw: I whipped around and faced him, looking him straight in the eye.  
"Hey, Listen you! It's bad enough you're dragging me off-," I was mad. But I stopped in my tracks and shut my mouth as he said,  
"HILDE. NOW." I didn't say another word. I found myself being dragged into another one of those over-conditioned limos, but this time, didn't say anything about it. The whole trip there was really silent. It was a little scary, everyone was staring straight at me. I faced forward, just trying not to let them know it was bothering me.  
I wondered what Duo would think when he noticed I was gone.  


********

I looked at Hilde's empty seat, then behind me at the double doors of the cinema. Where was she? It wouldn't take THAT long of a time to get some snacks. The only way something like that would take so long was if the gummies came to life and were boycotting her or something.  
I stood up and right away, someone threw a kernel at my head.  
"SIDDOWN!" He yelled. Well, obviously wasn't going to take anything from this guy, so I grabbed the first thing I could and threw it. Unfortunately the thing I grabbed was a soda can. A full soda can.  
"Okaaaay, Duo is LEAVING the building!" I muttered and I raced out of there, glad the guy was too lazy to come out after me. A lot of people are like that these days, too lazy to do anything. Now me on the other hand- is so lazy as to sit through a tornado with a remote controller in my hand. Not literally, but you get the point.  
I suddenly remembered that I was out there because was looking for Hilde. I was kind of angry that she was making me miss part of the movie, but was guessing she had a good reason for it. (She better.) I thought with a wide grin on my face.  
I made my way to the vendor and leaned over the counter.  
"Hey, uh. You wouldn't happen to have seen a young girl about my age, dark blue hair, pink beret walk by, did ya?" the girl turned to me and shook her head. But then she looked up at the ceiling as if she remembered something. Luckily she did.  
"Hey wait a minute. I DID see a girl with a beret walk out of here with three other guys. And they were in a hurry too. But I can't be too sure about what she looked like, because I didn't see her face." She pointed outside at the parking lot. "She left in this black limo." I nodded, still confused.  
"Thanks, ma'am!" I walked out of the theatre. I'd have a hell of a time explaining it to all of them waiting back at the apartment.  
And when I got back there, the lights were off and everyone was in their hiding places. I opened the door and hollered,  
"SHE AIN'T HERE!" A few 'Huh?'s and 'What?'s sounded out and I flicked on the light. First thing that happened was that Relena walked up to me and asked,  
"Duo, what's going on? Where is Hilde?" I didn't really know what to say and I shrugged. That got a few surprised replies. I closed the door behind me. "I dunno."  
"Whadda you mean you don't know. Weren't YOU the one who took her to the movies?" said Sally. I nodded, STILL not knowing what to say. Relena looked a little mad, probably because the look on my face probably said, 'Big Deal'. I did care, but I didn't know how else to look like.  
"Yea, but she went out of the cinema to grab some snacks and she never came back," I said. It was the honest truth, but a lot of them looked skeptical. The pilots just looked like they always did. Bored. That got on my nerves a bit, but not really that much. I was used to them being like that. You'd think after a year that they would at least be more… uh… peppy. Something like that.  
"So basically you're telling us that you lost Hilde?" Relena again.  
"Come on, guys, cut him some slack. I'm sure he has a perfectly good explanation for this," She gave me a quick glance, "Right, Duo?" Well, at least Noin was still on my side.  
"Actually, I don't," I replied to her. Everyone looked at me like they wanted to strangle me.  
"I don't know where Hilde is. One minute she's off buying snacks, the next minute she's gone. It's not like she's been kidnapped or anything. Or..eh… I hope not." I muttered the last few words under my breath, but I might as well have screamed it out because everyone heard it anyway.  
"I doubt it. She doesn't have very many people with a vendetta against her. It's been a year since the war, now," Wufei said. I nodded again, thinking the exact same thing. HAD there been someone with something against Hilde, I'd have kicked their behinds a long time ago. My hand shot toward my forehead and I slapped it, suddenly remembering something.  
"OH! The girl at the counter said she walked away in some black limo with some guys in suits," I said. I didn't know if that helped, but it made it a little easier on me. I didn't need them on my back because of something that wasn't even my fault.  
Relena sighed and crossed her arms. "Don't worry about it Duo. She'll be back soon. She may be a girl, but she's still a soldier. She knows how to take care of herself." I nodded, still as doubtful as I was before. And I had the right to be worried. 

Because that night, she didn't come home…

Next time on the The Schbieker Chronicles: Hilde is brought to a facility where she learns the reason for her abductor's quick actions. Meanwhile, back in the city, Duo sends out a search party of close friends to look for her. As things unfold, Hilde learns the purpose of her presence there and a secret that could shatter the peace that was brought by Relena and the pilots not long ago. Find out what happens next on The Schbieker Chronicle Episode 2: Terrorist Strike. 

Review! Review! Review! Whadda ya think? I kno my fic's rilly bad, but still. I'd like reviews all the same. Lots of em'. *Sigh* -_-. Anyway... thanks. 


	2. Terrorist Strike/Come Back to Me

Disclaimer: Hilde Duo & Gundam Wing don't belong me, but daaaaaaaaaaang, I'd die happy if they did. Well, I changed the chapter title because ...erm I had to. Its changed from Terrorist Strike to Come Back to Me. Hehe. Anyway, Don't sue me, otherwise MY lawyer would have a field day. ^_^. Besides... My brother and sister are in a conspiracy against me. They found my $$$ stash so now I'm broke. *sweat droplet*...  
  
The Schbieker Chronicles  
Chapter 1 - Part 2: Come Back to Me

back…

and forth…

Back…

And Forth…

BACK…

AND FORTH…

"I can't take it anymore!! EEEEERRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!" I clenched my fists really hard and screamed. I didn't care that the people on the 438th floor probably heard me, but right then… I didn't give a care. I was pacing around in Hilde's living room, glancing at her door every few moments in hopes of it opening up to reveal a very very late Hilde. What I got was a frustrating silence that hit me like a sack of bricks.

No, I'm not normally like this. Usually I'd shrug and just go to sleep. But not tonight. Something was wrong. The air was incredibly thick tonight, and the wind sang a soft melody of warning. The only time I've ever felt anything remotely close to this was the night that… the night that I lost Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. And the second time was when Hilde had taken the Taurus and had hacked into Libra. I almost lost her then. I wasn't about to lose her again.

I was right about to rip my hair out when the phone rang. Completely by reflex, and I do mean reflex, I ran toward it, launched myself over the couch, got my foot caught on the very top, and found myself flying toward the floor at about a hundred miles per hour. I swear, I bounced a couple of times.

I reached above the counter and felt around for the phone. Whoever was calling was going to get one heck of an earache. I put the phone to my face and prepared to yell.

"Who duh heyll iz dis, yoo leetle-." I said, my face firmly planted on the ground.

"Duo?" I stopped a moment. Wait a second. That couldn't be right…

"Quatre?" I wondered aloud. I peeled my face off the wood and I listened for a reply. What I got was an apologetic answer.

"Sorry. I caught you at a bad time. I'll call back later," said Quatre. He brought the phone away from his ear and was about to hang up. I, desperate for someone to talk to, started babbling things. It took only a few seconds before I gave up and yelled,

"IDIOT!" I listened for a clicking sound, glad that I didn't hear one. He didn't hang up yet. And just as I suspected, he answered back.

"Idiot? What did I do to become an idiot?" he asked. I was very surprised. He didn't sound the least bit insulted. If I was that immune to insults, I probably wouldn't have landed in a Gundam that just happens to associate itself with Death. Heh.

"Erm, uh, sorry. Just to get your attention. You really did catch me at a bad time, though." I said.

"Tell me about it. And may I just ask why you are in such a bad mood?" I shrugged. As if he could see me. My head was really starting to hurt from hitting the floor so hard. Stupid couch. I was going to send it to the compost heap as soon as I could.

"It's Hilde." I said. "She didn't come home." I heard a small, sharp intake of breath on the line. I could understand his surprise. I was thinking just about the same thing. I was so worried. Why was she doing this to me? She very well knew it would nearly make me break down waiting for her.

Besides. It was quiet without her to bother. I hated it when it was quiet. I, no matter what the circumstances, hated silence. That's one of the reasons I wanted to strangle Heero before I really got to know him. He was so silent. The only thing he'd probably want to converse about was probably committing suicide or some other forms of self mutilation.

Seriously!

"She's _still_ not home yet? Do you know what time it is?" I smirked.

"Look who's talking. It's much past your bed time, young man," Though there was no reply, I could tell he was embarrassed and blushing. He's still the guy I knew a year ago. He hasn't changed. That's more than I can say for myself, though. The only thing that _hasn't_ changed about me is that I'm still a total brat.

He let out a soft laugh. I blinked. Wow. So maybe he did change. Just a little.

"Heh. Anyway, do you have any idea where she is?"

"Nope. I don't. I have no idea where she is whatsoever."

"It figures." He said. I blinked again, my anger flaring. Quatre? Insulting me? Whoa, hang on there. Either I heard what I think I heard… or I was just hurting too much from the fall to interpret anything.

"Quatre! I'm hurt!" I said. Er, no pun intended.

"No! I didn't mean that. What I meant to say was that it figures she'd have something like this happen on her birthday. Poor Hilde," he explained.

"Poor Hilde? What about Poor Duo? I've been spinning, flying and careening into things because of her! Geeze, I need something to munch on. Maybe I can find something to munch in the kitchen." I left the room, the very long phone cord trailing a ways behind me. One of these days, I was going to break that phone. If I did, Hilde would probably kill me. Pretty soon, if she keeps this up, I won't have a head left for her to hit.

"Ah. I found some. Just how many are in here, anyway?" I looked inside the box and felt around inside. The box was empty. Quatre was getting a little restless while waiting for me to find something to eat already.

"What are you going to do about it? I mean we aren't just going to forget about her."

"Like hell we are! I didn't say we were going to forget about her. I'm just going to wait. I mean, maybe she's just gone somewhere important. Maybe a sick or dying relative. You never know," I replied. Come ON! There was nothing to eat in there. There was absolutely nothing in there! Oh… wait a sec. Hilde was supposed to bring home the groceries today. Darnit, I know its mean, but a guy's gotta get something to eat around here.

Then, I remembered my secret stash. Quatre however, was the only other person who knew about it. He stumbled upon it one day in my room. It was dumb luck, I tell you. And he also knew that was the next place I would look for something sweet. He made it a point to make a comment on the phone about it too.

"You can't start chewing on a twinkie every time you feel the slightest bit agitated!" He paused. "…Duo? What are you eating?"

"…Nuff'n…"

"It's a twinkie. Isn't it?"

"…"

********

"Duo, I'll kill you if you take the bed sheets again…" I muttered. I swatted the hand that was shaking my shoulder. It took me a sec before I suddenly registered that I wasn't in bed, or at home, for that matter. I blinked real hard before opening my eyes. I screamed when I found someone with dark sunglasses really close to my face. I started scratching and slapping and screeching as loud as I could before I recalled where I was.

(Oh yeah. That's right… I'm not at home. Wait a sec! I fell asleep in the car!)

"MISS SCHBIEKER!" he hollered and grabbed his face which was now covered in hand marks and scratches. I grinned sheepishly and apologized. I paused-I had fallen asleep in the limo. Man, I promised myself that I wouldn't let myself drift off! Who knew what they were going to do with me. What if they hurt me? Strangled me? RAPED ME!? I shuddered.

I stepped out of the car and into the midnight cold. The freezing temperature seemed to hesitate before suddenly wrapping around me. I shivered slightly, craning my neck to see the skyscraper in front of me. With how tall it was, it might was well have been a skyscraper.

They let me dawdle a moment, before they interrupted my thoughts.

"Hilde? Let's go." said the one to the left. Out of the corner of my eye, I finally got a full glance of his face. He had been silent the whole time. The agent or whatever, that spoke most was tall and 'klunky', you could say.

The quiet one was kinda cute. Almost as cute as Duo, I might add. WAIT A MINUTE! HOLD ON THERE! I did NOT just think that! Duo's my friend, I never think about this kinda stuff! Especially about him. Duo is good looking, yes, but I never used to catch myself admitting that. Not even in my head.

I blushed a minute, but I didn't move. The quiet one grabbed my hand and pulled me in. Without any force, mind you. It was a kind of friendly pull.

I managed to keep up with his pace as he pulled me inside. I took a look at his profile as I walked up beside him. His eyes were a like a little kid's. They were a little big, but the ends were slender and fine, while his lips were soft and pale. His nose was round and small, perfectly fitting in with the rest of his face. Now that I noticed, his height was about the same as mine.

He glanced at me when he noticed I was staring at him. I quickly turned away, hoping he wouldn't catch me staring at him again. I think he smiled.

We stopped in a large, but a little crowded room. One of them sat me down at a chair off to the side, while the rest of them left. A few moments later, a woman strolled in and stopped in front of me.

On instinct, I stood up. The woman was of high-rank. The aura around her was very distinctive, and not to mention a lot of people were 'trailing' behind her. Luckily, I seemed to do the right thin because the woman seemed to relax a little bit.

I had been in the Oz faction long enough to know if someone was higher than the hierarchy than I was. There were little things that you normally didn't notice that told you. To actually use this talent, you hard to be sharp.

She was wearing a pure white uniform, which was laced in gold every here and there. A white rose rested on her breast pocket, blending in perfectly with the clothes she wore. It blended in a little too perfectly, so much that you almost didn't notice she was wearing that rose at all.

And her hair. Oh, her hair was beautiful. It was auburn with a touch of red, which was pulled up into a tall pony tail. Her bangs were grown out and steamed down beside her cheeks.

"Hello. You must be the one they recommended to me. Hilde Schbeiker, am I right?" I didn't say anything, but my silence must have been a decent answer because she looked me over with interest. "You seem like you're up to it."

"Up to what?" I asked.

"Welcome, Hilde." She took up my hand and shook it. "How are you this night?"

"I'm uh… fine." I replied. I paused a moment, long enough to get my thoughts straight. "Miss, can you tell me why I'm here, and not at my apartment where I need to be."

"I'll tell you everything you need to know tomorrow. Take her up to her room. I want her to get rested up. She has a full day tomorrow." Said the woman. 

"I'm finished with her tonight." Finished with me tonight? She had barely been in the room for more than 30 seconds and she was done with me for the night? I was completely lost.

Suddenly I was hit with a strong urge to ask her something personal. 

"What's your name?" I asked. The question was out of line, but I couldn't help wonder…

"My name?" And for a moment she and I exchanged a look. I didn't know what it meant, but …it felt good. Maybe it was kinship. I still don't know what it meant then, but maybe I'll figure it out someday. She turned suddenly but stopped a moment before leaving.

"It's Lady Une. Don't forget it." She then exited the room in a hasty retreat. I tilted my head curiously as the door slid closed behind her.

"Lady Une, huh? Hm. Where have I heard her name before?" It wasn't really a question. It felt more like a statement. I shrugged and left the room through the door on the opposite side.

I hadn't known I was so tired last night, because things were too busy swirling around in my head for me to grasp the fact that I was exhausted as hell. As soon as I hit the covers I had fallen asleep. I found out just how long I slept when I woke up to the rays of the afternoon sun shining down on my face.

I blinked, and then opened my eyes slowly. I sat up in my bed and looked around. I couldn't quite remember anything from last night, except the fact that I had met someone named Lady Une. I couldn't get the feeling that I had seen her before. Maybe she was just someone I had heard about during the war or something.

I had once thought I heard Noin talking about her with Sally. I had asked her, but she just shrugged and changed the subject right away. Once I got out of this mess, I'd have to ask her again.

"Good morning." Said a voice. I nearly fell out of bed from surprise. "It's good to see that you're finally awake." My vision cleared, but I still had to squint my eyes to get a grip on what was what. And I blinked. I was under the covers. That meant someone had probably put me there.

"Lady had sent me up to get you. Good thing too. The last person who woke you up still has scars." I laughed. It wasn't funny, but I guess I needed it, so I laughed anyway. You know, not many people have the ability to make me laugh when I don't feel like it. It's hard to get me in a better mood, but I think you can get a pretty good idea of who can get me to feel better and who can't.

I sighed as a heavy feeling washed over me. I missed Duo already. I wanted to see him.

I had only been away for a few hours and I was beginning to feel like I'd never see him again. And if you've ever felt something like that, it's not the happiest feeling in the world.

"Your clothes are at the foot of your bed," he dropped a uniform at my feet, "and Lady is waiting for you downstairs. She wants to eat lunch with you today."

"Wait a minute? Lunch? Just what time is it anyway?" I hopped out of bed, a little disgusted to find myself still in the clothes I wore yesterday. Well, em, maybe not. I probably wouldn't have liked the idea of someone taking off all my clothes and then changing me into nighties. Eheh… that wouldn't have been a pleasant thought to wake up to.

"It's nearly 1:00. About 12:50 I'd say," he said. His eyes were focused on the ceiling as he thought. "Not too sure though. All I know is that you ought to wake up." And with that he left me alone in the room to change. I walked over to the pile of clothes and took a good look at what he had given me.

It was something like Lady Une's but it was a dark blue. It looked just like my old Oz uniform except my old on had a dark green tint to it. This one was just a midnight blue. It was very pretty.

"I gotta find a way to get out of here. I've gotta escape. Who know what they're up to. But for now, I'd better lay low. Figure out what they want with me," I muttered to myself as I slipped it on. It was a snug fit. "I wonder what that guy's name is. He's been hovering around me since I came here. He's damn quiet, that's for sure."

I got into the pants and stared at myself at a mirror that was conveniently placed in the front of my bed.

"Not to bad." I frowned. "I'd better stop talking to myself. Next thing I know I'll have a split personality. Heh-heh." My smiled turned upside down and I looked into the mirror and straight into my own eyes. "They can't keep me for long here. They'll see."

********

I impatiently looked at my wristwatch and began to tap my foot impatiently as I waited. Where were the others? They were supposed to be here by now! Everyone was late. Relena was there, but she wasn't supposed to show up. I hadn't asked her, but she was nice enough to come anyway.

Besides, it was a tough job being queen and all and I didn't want to bother her. I guess she must have shoved off that meeting she had to be here, so I couldn't have complained if I wanted to. Not that I did, anyway. I'd say she deserves a lot of respect, especially for the junk she does for us today.

"Where are the others," I muttered under my breath. "I swear to God, I'm gonna kick their-"

"Duo, calm down. They'll probably be here any minute. If you don't settle down, you're going to explode, so cool it!" Relena said. I shot her a look and she backed off a bit. But she still had enough backing to her to give me a look back.

I shrugged internally and started with the frantic 'where is everybody' act.

It was a while before anyone actually showed up. About an hour. And not everyone was there. It turned out, Noin had some important business to attend to, as did Wufei. As for what business Wufei had, I still am suspicious. I still remember that incident with Mariemaia he pulled. I haven't trusted very much since.

Sally was able to help, but only for a little while. She had to take care of some older relatives who were arriving in the afternoon. I still say she should leave the old geezers to fend for themselves and help look for Hilde!

And the rest of the pilots came except for Heero, who has that mystery thing going on where no one knows what he's up to. He was probably at his laptop again, hacking into enemy files. We pretty don't have very many enemies anymore, but I guess a guy like him always has stuff to tend to. Especially if that guy is as suicidal, or homicidal- whichever you please-, as him.

"Okay, guys, I think I've pretty much told everyone what is going on when I called you to invite you here. Everyone had a pretty good idea of what happened, am I right?" I said aloud. Everyone nodded or mumbled 'yes,' or gave some sort of reply.

"Good. You may think this is overreacting a bit, but if you look at it from my point of view, then it makes a lot of sense. Hilde wouldn't go and do something like this. She'd at least leave a note before she left. And you also have to keep in mind she was first gone when we were at the movie theater. Now you have to suspect something wrong when she leaves during a time like that. Especially on her birthday," I explained. Everyone nodded again and kept silent. But Sally spoke up.

"What if she did leave a note and I accidentally blew out the window or something. You can't just assume she's been kidnapped," said Sally. I paused a moment. It was a plausible explanation, but it wasn't plausible enough for me. I placed on the hat I had been carrying and I crossed my arms.

"Sally, what do you think? You think Hilde's stupid enough to leave open the windows if she left a note? And besides, that's not the point. Hilde would have taken that into consideration. Believe me when I say she takes the utmost care into EVERYTHING she does. Even a little thing like that."

"I'm just saying maybe we should take everything into consideration before we go and bust down doors, throwing threats at everyone who saw her that day." I sighed and shook my head. Okay, fine. That was it.

"I just don't think something like this is just a some stupid cooinky-dink, okay? Just maybe I have my reason for believing she didn't come home," I hadn't even noticed my posture. I was stiff and tense. Sally failed to reply, probably because of how frustrated I looked. Besides, it wasn't like I was doing it for a special reason. It was just that she was my friend.

She wasn't my girlfriend, no. Er… at least I don't think so. She was Hilde. My best friend.

"By chance, do you have any special relationship with her that you'd like to discuss with us?" Quatre said a little playfully. Ooo-kaayyy, where did that come from?

"…" The question had come out of nowhere and it left me completely speechless. I hadn't ever stopped to think about it before. The answer was no, but there was another question. COULD there be a special relationship? I hadn't known it at the time, but a Catherine had a big smile on her face. I was blushing and she could see it as plain as day.

"Who are you and what have you done with Quatre," I said. "And no, there's nothing _special_ I'd like to speak to you about. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to start looking for Hilde as soon as possible. The sooner we set off to look for her the better." I checked my watch.

"I'm guessing we're all going to meet back again, so we all come back here in three hours, got it?"

"What do we do once we find her?" asked Trowa.

"I dunno, why are you asking me, anyway," I asked him. I shouldn't have, because he had gotten quite an attitude since last year. It wasn't bad, but every now and then he'd show traces of something besides the machine he always is.

"Seeing as you're taking charge here, I'd thought I'd consult you before doing anything stupid," he said. I shot my second look today at him. He shrugged, and he did what was a cross between a smirk and his usual blank expression.

"All right. Enough time wasted. I wanna find her as soon as possible," I said. I stopped myself for a moment to think. Geeze, I felt something awful ahead of me. Ahead of me and Hilde that is. Something in the future- something that might affect us forever- might just happen. I didn't know why I was going all mercenary about finding her.

God! There was something in the back of my mind, warning me about a big event coming up. It was so much like the time with Sister Helen and Father Maxwell. I had lost everything then. I wasn't going to lose Hilde. I wasn't ready to lose her yet. If I was going to lose her, I'd let her go, not let her die. I'd rather she left me, than disappear mysteriously. I need something to stand on. I needed some reassurance that she was okay. Some backing.

Because I cared. I mean as a friend. Only a friend. (Because that's all we'll ever be) I caught myself thinking.

eheheh...heh... *sweat droplet* that was a funky little chapter. I'm probably going to get things going in the next one. Sorry: This chapter was really flaky, if u kno what I mean. I hope it'll get better. ^_^. Review! Tell me how I'm doing! And just to let you know I wrote this BEFORE I read the fic, Switch. That twinkie bit Milo&Otis's story is hilarious. (Wufei's twinkie poem--lol)

--Shadow@ngel  
[superpinay@hotmail.com][1]

[http://members.fortunecity.com/animeshadowz][2] -- My homepage  
[http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/shinigamisangel][3] --Hilde & Duo club[  
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/animeinlove][3] -- Anime Romance Club

   [1]: mailto:superpinay@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://members.fortunecity.com/animeshadowz
   [3]: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/shinigamisangel



	3. Remembering to Forget

The Schbieker Chronicles  
By Shadow@ngel   
[superpinay@hotmail.com][1]

__________________________________________________________  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Nope. Nothing at all…Nothing is mine. Everything belongs to everyone but me…

Great. Now I'm just depressed.

Hehe. Neither do I own the explosions that ripped up this chapter. Heh. Wait til' you see what I did to Quatre. Its a small part, but hehe… I had a fun writing it. Oh well, I hope you enjoy the story!

This is respectively from the Point Of View of Hile and Duo. (And if u don't know what that means… *sweat droplet* it means that it switches back and forth from Hilde's and Duo's point of view.

__________________________________________________________

Part 3:

Uneasy. That's how I felt that morning. I hadn't known Lady Une that much (actually…not at all), but I was in such a hype about making a good impression. I was all in a fritz about it, and I wasn't even sure why. God! Why did I feel so…I mean… I can't describe it, but it was like I had known her in my past life or something. It was almost as if she had been a significant part of my life when I was a kid. It was like that, but the thing was that I had never even met her before! It was driving me insane trying to sort all my thoughts and emotions out.

It had been an hour since I woke up and I was all ready, so I took the time to let my mind wonder off into a daydream. I was dressed, bathed and prepared to see her.

I stared out the balcony and watched the sand batter up against the glass. There was a sandstorm going on outside. It was as if it was knocking on the window, awaiting an invitation to come in. Just like I invited Duo to stay in my apartment about a year ago.

"Dammit. I miss you," I placed my palm against the smooth surface of the glass. I could feel the surface shaking a bit from the force of all that wind. It was almost like me. I was ready to burst through that glass pane of fear and rush home to my place. To my place where I hoped Duo was still waiting for me.

"Um. Excuse me, Hilde. Are you ready?" asked a voice behind me. I jumped. I hadn't felt him come into my room. I hadn't even heard him open the door. I guess I must have been so into my thoughts that I didn't pay attention to what was around me. I was going to have to stop doing that, otherwise something might catch me off guard that might end my career permanently.

"Hoi!" I yelped in surprise. "Erm- sorry! Eheh…Yeah. I'm ready." He turned around and headed down the hall.

The red carpeting was beautiful against the contrast of the pale hallway. Its brilliance practically radiating from the floor. I stopped a brief moment to stare at the deep shade of red. And for a brief second, as I raised my eyes to the end of the hall, the carpet almost seemed like a pool of blood leading me forward. I shivered.

"What?" I asked.

" I said," he walked up to me, "Are you all right?" I recovered quickly and I waved my hands in a defensive gesture towards him.

"Oh I'm fine. I just tend to zone out every now and then. I've got a lot on my mind." He ate that up real quick, to my relief. But either he ate it up, or he just wasn't showing anything. A lot of people that came and left my life… almost all of them have just about the same qualities of Heero and Trowa. Mostly common sense, and the ability to somehow trick me into thinking everything was okay.

Everything was not okay. I was surprised I was even bothering to stay and see what was going on. I mean, I could easily go back home with no trouble at all. Without a word, note, anything. I could be free again. They may come back after me, but the authorities would probably be able to help me.

A lot of important factors could be considered. Whoever was in charge could be charged with kidnapping and …various other things.

There were so many reason to leave. One of the major ones was that I had no idea of what to do. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know anyone there, let alone know their names. I didn't know what was going on. And I wasn't sure I wanted to know. From the look of things, I knew I had to stay there for a while. And I didn't like it.

I didn't like it one bit.

"Hilde. We're here. Straighten up your collar. I won't have you making a fool of yourself in font of her," he said. I felt my collar and I immediately wished there was a mirror I could use.

He gave a little impatient grunt and reached out to fix it himself. I found myself blushing like mad, because he had to unbutton part of my shirt to fix it right. It seemed I was so immersed in my thoughts in my room earlier that I had whipped up a retarded collar. I smiled internally.

He finished up by brushing aside some stray bangs from my face. I relaxed. I felt calm under the feel and the warmth of his touch against my cold forehead.

"Hilde?" My eyes opened on their own. I hadn't known I had even closed them. Whoops.

"Um. Yeah?" I breathed. Something was wrong with my voice. It had just gone out on me. It felt like I couldn't speak, almost as if someone had stuffed a brick down my throat.

"What are you waiting for. We don't want to keep Lady Une sitting there waiting for you, no do we?" he asked. I shook my head and he led me to a giant set of double-doors. He stepped in front of me and opened them with ease, watching me as I treaded into the room.

Well, it wasn't actually a room. It…was a like through the entryway. What I found in front of me was a small, naturally lit room. There were long windows littering the walls, and doors were on every side. In the middle of the room sat a table with two chairs. Lady Une was sitting in one of them.

I stepped toward the chair and I seated myself in front of her. She turned her head a bit, and the sunlight that was flooding the room hid her eyes behind a glare.

"Welcome Hilde. Did you have a good night's rest?" Her inquiry surprised me. I noticed the tone of her voice and I knew she was beating around the Bush. Hm. If she wanted to play the part, so would I. Have it her way.

"I had a very good nights sleep. Thank you. And you?" I said.

"Very good." She said. She shifted her gaze towards me. Or rather, behind me. She wasn't looking me. I may not have seen her eyes behind the glare of her glasses, but I knew she wasn't making eye contact with me.

She was hiding something from me. Probably something she knew I couldn't hear.

After her words, she seemed to change her posture. She flicked her wrist and a soldier came right away, shuffling from a side door. He stopped beside her and he anxiously awaited his orders.

"I think we're ready to eat now. Ms. Schbieker?" I nodded and shortly after, the soldier left the room. Obviously he was going to get our food.

Lady Une raised her hands and grasped her glasses. They slid off her face with ease. I was almost taken back by her eyes.

I had never seen any like hers. They held a touch of fear along with a touch of anger. But they were blank. I couldn't explain it. There was something behind the emotions that was just blank. It was the kind of blankness that told you that they had survived something they wished they didn't. It was …almost if she was telling me she had committed suicide.

But how can you commit suicide. And survive?

"Miss Schbieker. You're probably wondering what's behind the wall I cast in front of me."

"Lady Une?" Her mouth opened to say something to me, but one of the doors opened. My head turned for me, and I saw who it was that had entered the room. It was the solder Lady Une had sent to get our food. I felt a little disappointed. I had almost expected it to be Duo rushing in to get me and to free me from this prison of place.

The thought nearly sent my hope crashing down in flames. But I knew better. I wouldn't let my hope die. Not yet. Not while Duo was still out there looking. I know he was looking for me because I could feel him. Well, it wasn't a feel… but it was more of a… something. I don't know. 'Feel' wasn't the right word.

I glanced back at Lady Une. Her glasses were resting delicately on her face again.

"Thank you, Alan. That's all for now." she said, as the soldier placed a plate and a cup down in front of me. He quickly placed Lady's food in front of her as well before leaving the room in a rush. I looked over the food and decided I couldn't eat.

My stomach couldn't take it, so I simply reached out for the wine glass. She began to speak as the glass reached my lips.

"Once I tell you what I'm going to say, I hope you understand you won't be able to back out." Lady Une didn't touch her lunch. It simply sat there before her. I was guessing she wasn't hungry either.

She had suddenly changed again. The 'wall' comment had rendered her soft and a little open. But now all of a sudden, she was hard and diplomatic. The contrast between the transitions threw me off course. I had to tread a little before I was finally underway.

"I understand," I said as I place the glass back down on the table. She kept silent. She knew I still had something important to ask. So I did. "But will I ever be able to go back?" My words left my mouth in what was little more than a whisper.

"Do you recall the war? Just about a year ago, before Mariemaea?" she said. "Of course you do. I hope you never forget it. Because if we don't act now, another one may just be ready to break out."

(Another war? Oh Jesus) I had just thought it was a stupid kidnapping. I hadn't known it was so serious. Had I actually known this beforehand, I'd have gladly come. The last thing the world needed was another war. We had had enough of that already.

"We're dealing with terrorists here. We've BEEN dealing with their threats since the war. I'm surprised we've been able to keep all of this under wraps even now. The media will stop at nothing for a good story. And I just know that one of my men will break and let it loose any day now."

"What are they aiming for?" I asked. "The terrorists, I mean? Where did they come from? Why are they even trying to spark up a war? You have to give me more to rely on. You can't just leave me hanging like this. Especially if you want me to fight for you."

"Hilde, that is all we have to give you." I just snapped right then and there. I was sick of them holding back.

"All you have to give me? Lady Une just what are-," She quieted me with a gesture of her hand. It surprised me a little of how easily she got me to shut up. I guess there was something about her that made people want to follow her. The Gundam pilots had a different was of things. They ran on their own. They were solitary and the only reason people followed because they believed in them. They were symbols of hope. But Lady Une was different. People followed her because… they… they just felt that they owed it to her, I guess. That's how I felt, anyway.

"You can't back out of this now. The only means you will be able to escape this is to fight. And still, you have the choice of dying in vain, or coming out victorious. Its your choice."

I didn't know what to say, so I just said the first thing that came to my mind. I regretted it the moment the words left me.

"..Yes. I'll fight."

I stood in the center of a room where several machines sat all around me. Lady Une stepped in front of me and outstretched her hand, motioning to one a desk to my right. There were two people behind the desk.

One was the soldier who had been tending to me that morning, I learned his name was Rolin, and the other was a blonde female. I glanced at her pretty face, and I got a little jealous. The only thing that kept me from wishing I had a face like hers was the fact that she had 'bitch' written all over it. The smug look, the narrowed eyes, the puffy lips. How much more can you say about a person than that? Not to mention her clothing was so tight it might as well have been painted on. I didn't mean to take her in that way. It just that my heart started hating her on its own.

I internally scoffed at her and I directed my attention back to lady Une.

"This is the simulator room. The two people over there are Rolin and Fala." I couldn't help notice that her name meant 'crow' in Native American. I guess listening in school had its little quirks. "They'll be determining which system you will be working with during battle. The new age technology allowed us to create updated systems. Each one adapted for each soldier. You will be classified by individually, so you don't have to worry about having to adjust from system to system.

"And if you look all around you, all these machines are for training. Not real battles, of course, but they are as close as you'll ever get to the real thing. I'll leave you here with those two. I have some other work to attend to. Good luck."

I nodded and proceeded to the desk where the two were speaking about something. Une glanced briefly at her watch and left the room. It didn't seem all to important, but I guess it must've been much more important to me because it was a while before they noticed me standing there. And it was no surprise that it was Rolin who noticed me first.

"Hi Hilde. So you're going to be training her today, am I right?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Well, this will be where you'll be training for a few weeks. Then after that you'll start physical training. You probably want to be prepared because lemme tell you that physical training isn't a vacation."

"You should probably take it slow if you can't handle it," Fala joined in. "And by the way. Just call me Fay." She turned her chair back around and began tending to something on the small monitor in front of her.

"Um.. okay… yeah, sure." I muttered. "Rolin?" I didn't exactly know what to do because I had never been in anything like this. This was a first for me. It was a good thing Rolin got the drift. I heard some clacking behind the desk. Computer keys. There were a few small beeps.

"Okay. I've pulled up your stats just now." he said. (My stats?) "Your birthday, your current age, your marriage status, everything we need to know." It was almost as if he read my mind.

I was a little surprised that they knew that much about me. It was also a little scary. Your life was open to anyone these days. Especially a hacker. Believe me, I know. I was one. I still am, but I don't really want to get too involved in that business. Hackers these days, if they didn't have the right skills, would be caught in three days flat. Literally.

I've never been caught before, so I didn't really know what happened to them. I probably didn't want to know anyway.

"And nooow…. This'll compute your system match. Your perfect match. So perfect, in fact that you supposedly supposed to be one with your mobile suit. At least that's what they say," He said, a smile reaching across his face. I didn't react. I just waited for the results. "..Okay. Its done. This one says your system is.. is…" He blinked. His smile disappeared and is was replaced with a concerned frown. He turned to Fay.

"Fay. Take a look. This can't be right, can it???" Fay rolled over beside Rolin in her chair. She stared at the screen, her eyes darting back and forth, scanning over the screen. The same expression came onto her face as well. She shifted her gaze to me, then to Rolin, and finally ending with a cold, but confused stare at me again.

By then, their little game of look -back-and-forth was getting on my nerves.

"What?" I asked, my annoyance a little obvious by then. Rolin cleared his throat and quickly regained his composure just as Fay's jaw finally lifted itself from the floor. Not literally, but I think you get what I'm trying to put across.

"The cpu says you're system is the Mindshift." My lack of response told him just how clueless I was.

I started drifting off and staring off into space when Fay snapped her fingers in front of my face. I pushed away her hand and I followed after Rolin who was already walking ahead of us. He had a clipboard and he was marking off several things on it.

He walked up beside a large machine, and he opened a small door on it. I hesitated as he motioned for me to slip inside. I stared at it a moment and obeyed.

I wasn't ready for what I was going to see next. I was surprised to find that inside of it was exactly like a mobile suit cockpit. I glanced outside at Rolin who was staring right back at me. He read my eyes and nodded.

"I told you it was the simulation room. Don't worry about it. Just slip the visor to your left on. I'll start it up in a few moments." He said. He stepped back out and closed the door. I grabbed the visor he was talking about. It was lying beside me.

I slowly slipped it on, and it was only after I noticed there were wires coming from the sides of the visor, did the screen in front of me light up. The simulation began and I was now in front of a whole line of mobile dolls instead of a stupid screen. The funny thing was… the moment the simulation started, I forgot just how much I missed Duo.

********

"Don't you DARE tell me how to fix this, Dammit! I'M THE MECHANIC HERE! SO shaddup and just let me frikkn' work!!" I yelled. The man stumbled back and tripped. Luckily, there was the chair behind him, so he didn't just plop down on the floor. The lucky bastard looked scared as hell. At least he had stopped pestering me about the little details.

Janine glanced once at me before she crossed her arms.

"Duo! Darn it, stop badgering the customer! He was just saying that you might want to put in a few more screws in that thing!" she said. Janine was one of my co-workers here at the little salvage group I was working for. She was a feisty little girl. And she had the biggest crush on me. If was fairly obvious though. I mean, even the manager thought so.

But I learned a long time not to assume something like that. Especially if that certain something has to do with a girl's affections.

I glared at Janine and gave a little grunt of anger and turned to the little project I was working on.

"And he's right, Duo. If you don't, that thing will fall apart the next time you even try to flip the damn ON switch!!" I grabbed the stupid contraption and shoved it into her hands. She gave me a surprised look as I turned and walked away. I wasn't going to take anything today. There was enough I had to worry about. I didn't need to add my paycheck to my list of problems.

"Hey! Where the heck are you going?" Janine asked, jogging after me. I ignored her and kept walking straight for the door. I was halfway out when she grabbed me shoulder and turned me around. I was kind of shocked because she never used to do anything like that. She was kind of shorter than me, so she never really got in over her head.

"I SAID, Where are you going? Your shift's not over yet!" she said in a haughty voice. She wasn't going to leave me alone. She was a pesky little girl, I'll tell ya that!

"I'm going home. I've got something important to do!"

"Like what!?"

"None of your business. All you need to know is that working here instead of looking for …it…isn't worth it!" Janine, like I thought, kept on. She was on my back all the time about the littlest things. I swear to God, one of these days I would smack her.

"No, Duo. You ain't leaving me here to do all this shit alone. Not this time! This time, you're staying here! Besides, what the hell is more important than helping me here, huh!?" At that point in time, I had hoped to keep everything that was going on a secret. I thought the Gundam pilots and the few other friends and I could handle it. Just us, no one else. Unfortunately Janine had gotten on my bad side right then, because I suddenly blurted it out. So loud in fact that there was a little crashing noise in the back where the manager was working on some paperwork.  
  
"Like looking for my missing girlfriend!" I cried. Her eyes went wide and I looked up at the ceiling. (Great. Now look what you've done. You've shocked her into silence. Great job, Maxwell) I thought to myself. The manager came stumbling out of his office with a bunch of papers falling from his hands.

"What's going on?" He asked. I slapped my forehead. (WHYYYY!) Janine looked pissed, the manager looked surprised… and the guy sitting on the seat in the corner was still scared out of his wits from his first encounter with me.

I almost laughed. Almost.

"Duo's got-," Janine started. Oh no, she didn't. I wasn't going to let her blurt it out just like that. If she was going to, I wanted to be out of the room.

"-To go home. I don't feel so good," I interrupted her. At that, I spun around and stalked out the door without so much a sound except the bell on the door. I sighed in relief as I didn't hear them come out after me. I didn't think I'd be able to explain anything else. I had enough of that kind of junk already. Who could have thought so many bad things could've happened in one day. I laughed at myself. It couldn't get any worse.

You know in those cliché movies where something bad happens and somebody goes, 'It can't get any worse! Cheer up!'? Well news flash, buddy. IT ALWAYS WILL. And you'd think I would learn it by now!

I was laying down on the couch, flipping through all channels, looking for something to keep my mind off all the stress I had been having that week. It was midnight. I couldn't sleep, and it didn't make sense to go looking for her when we had no idea where to look. She was just gone. Poof! Just like that. And I got discouraged even further when the search party came back with no leads, no smiles, and no Hilde.

Well, that night I had found not Hilde, but something that might have been worse. It was a news channel and some woman reporter was ranting on about an explosion that had suddenly gone off behind her. To think, the girl had been doing a story on one of the most hectic and dangerous streets in District C. Heh. And she was talking about traffic.

"What have we got here," I muttered to myself and watched the screen. I glanced past the lady and into the area of the explosion. A lot of smoke was going up and it looked like a fire was starting. Dust was flying up everywhere.

Then, I sat up abruptly as I saw a glint somewhere behind the veil of smoke. A bright glint of something metal. Like a mobile suit. I leaned forward and waited for something to happen. I strained to listen for anything that would tip something off about what it was. My 'sixth sense' you could say, had kicked in.

Just like I had thought, the mobile suit suddenly emerged, the reporter screaming her lungs out. Then, I guess somebody had run into the cameraman because the camera swerved around, its last picture of a lightly cloudy blue sky, before it suddenly ended with a round of static.

Crap. I didn't get a good glance at the mobile suit before the camera went blank. I said a silent prayer that Hilde was nowhere near there and ran to the phone. Before I got a chance to pick it up and start dialing, the phone rang. I picked it up, assuming it was one of the pilots.

It was Relena.

"Duo? Are you seeing this?" her disturbingly calm voice said. I muttered an 'Uh-huh' before she continued. I couldn't really hear her, because I could hear someone screaming in the background. I blinked and realized just where she was. She was at a pay phone near the scene.

"Shit!" I said. "Relena get out of there!"

"Duo! WAIT!" she cried. I suddenly wondered why she was calling me, and not Mr. Yui.

"What!? Forget it! It can wait! Whatever it is you can tell me after you get out of the-,"

"Shut your mouth and listen! I saw her! I saw Hilde!"

********

Yeah. I should have run once I saw Relena. I should have run once we made eye contact. I should have run once I saw the mobile suit. But thank God I had the sense to run when it slammed into the building behind me.

I lost sight of Relelna the moment Rolin and Fay grabbed my hand and pulled me away.

The whole reason I was there in the first place was the fact that we were going on a routine check of one of our subjects. Her name was Annie. She was suspected to be Relena's other sister. It wasn't for sure, but we couldn't take any chances. And those chances could be that she would be next in line to rule the world, seeing as Relena had stepped down. If Annie, otherwise known as Mary Anne Peacecraft, was manipulated into assuming the rank of queen, she could be used to start another world war.

It not soon before I had left, that I had learned that the organization I had been 'chosen' to work with was an inner faction of the Preventers. And from the looks of it, I didn't think that Noin or Sally knew about it.

"Hilde, Fay: Head for the storage building. You know that big old building down in the south part of this District? That's where the our Gundams are hidden." I nearly fell over.

"Gundams?" I asked. I thought only the scientists knew the technology to build a Gundam. And they were practically impossible to find. Not to mention, the only Gundams that had existed beforehand were the ones they had self-destructed after the war with Mariemaea.

"Yes. Gundams, now go! I have to get Annie out of here!" He abruptly turned around and made his way across the street. He was having the hardest time because evidently, the raving mob of screaming civilians was going in the opposite direction.

"Hilde! Quit day-dreaming and let's go!" She hissed. I resented her, I really did.

I just started running at an even pace when I was suddenly jerked back. I automatically reached back, pulled my gun, and pointed it at the unsuspecting person who had grabbed my hand. I was shocked to find myself looking the eyes of none other than Relena Peacecraft. Her eyes went wide when she realized I had her at gunpoint.

"Hilde!" she started. "What are you doing!? You have an oblig-," Fay had finally noticed my predicament and she had run up beside me.

"Vice Foreign Minister…" her voice started in a whisper. She then followed my lead and pulled out her own gun. "Miss, you'd better let my partner go. You don't want to get involved in this." No doubt she knew exactly who Relena was.

"What are you doing, Hilde… Explain to me why exactly you ran aw-," I couldn't let her go on.

"Miss! You are in over your head! Just turn around or I will shoot you. I swear to Kami himself that I will. Don't make me repeat myself." My voice was loud and commanding. If I was Relena, I wouldn't have known it was me at all… But I had to. I didn't want anyone else involved in this other than me. Not even Duo. I know he can take care of himself, but…

"Hilde?" I guess she had finally noticed how deep in it she was, because she looked scared now. "Why are you doing this!? What is wrong with you!?" I cocked the gun.

"Just go get the Gundam. I'll deal with her." Fay said to me. I hesitated a moment before she screamed, "GO!"

"Who are you! What've you done with Hilde!?" That was the last thing I heard from Relena. My heart stopped as there was a loud shot. (Relena…!?) Did Fay just…? Did Fay just shoot her? I kept on running, my legs taking me farther and farther away. I gained the courage to turn around when another series of shots were fired.

It was Heero Yui.

********

I stood behind him and I watched as he aimed his gun and fired once. Then after a few moments time, let loose a whole round of ammunition. My eyes followed his gun to where a blonde-haired young woman was standing over a girl. She was lying on the ground and her head was bleeding.

"Relena!" I yelled. She didn't move. I looked at Heero and he seemed all too calm about everything, so I asked. I sighed in relief when he gave me the answer.

"She's not dead. Just unconscious. Go after the girl. I'll go tend to Relena." I would have smirked had I not had my mind firmly on something else. The one thing that was on my mind? I think you have a pretty good idea what that was.

"Heero, I got nothin' to go after her wi-," I said.

"Here." He tossed me a gun and I nodded. I reached in my pocket and I was surprised to find that I had some bullets in there. I guess those last few months of paranoia had paid off. I raced after the girl who had already began to turn.

As I ran, I began to wonder why Heero hadn't shot the girl. Sure he fired at her, but he never actually hit her. Heero never had missed his mark. I was sure of it. There must've been a reason behind it. I bet he knew something I didn't.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" I yelled. The girl simply gave me a glance and kept running. I growled at myself for even trying. This was what they got when they ignored a Gundam Pilot. I pointed, I fired. She cried out once the bullet ripped through her arm.

She raised her good arm and it wasn't long after that I saw the gun in her hand. I dove behind a car and felt the bullet whiz by.

"That was close," I muttered and I stood up to return fire. I ducked back down again. The glass of the Shop window behind me exploded when the girl's bullets hit it. And it didn't help at all when the shop turned out to be selling porcelain figures that week. I cursed when one of the pieces of glass managed to cut my hand as it flew by.

"Fay!?" Another girl cried. "You've been shot!"

"Forget it, you idiot!" I heard Fay yell. I poked my head out and I watched as she pointed to a deserted storage facility. "I'm fine! Just go get your damn Gundam!" She was facing a young girl in a Navy Blue uniform, a uniform that matched the color of her hair. The other girl nodded and she ran off. I take this time to shoot the other girl.

"Holy Shit!" the second girl cried as I just miss her leg. I froze. (That sounded just like..! – Duo! Snap out it! That's not Hilde!) I was still thinking about her damnit!

I had to duck back down again once they both started firing at me. The hood of the car looked massacred. I felt real sorry for whomever had owned the thing. There was another explosion to my left. And it wasn't from one of the girls I had been chasing. It was near the site where the explosion had gone off in the first place. It was the mobile suit and it was still wreaking havoc while I was chasing those girls.

It was a Serpent. One of those mobile suits that they has used in the last war. That hour, that second! Was the only time I regretted self destructing our Gundams. What I would have done for a chance to battle that thing in my old buddy, Deathscythe.

********

I was sweating. The guy nearly shot me in the leg. Whoever it was, I'd guess they were almost as good as a Gundam Pilot. But that was insane. The only Gundam Pilot I actually saw there was Heero, and he was helping to get Relena out of there. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was praying that the guy who was firing at me was Duo. Okay, so maybe I was praying with my whole mind. But as you can tell, it was stupid and I quickly pushed away the thought.

It wasn't long before I reached the storage warehouse where Rolin had said our Gundams were. The entrance was in the back, so it didn't exactly help. I was tired of running. I didn't want to run anymore. I had run too much in the past.

As I reached the doors, I pushed them open. I pushed harder, but they wouldn't budge. It was locked from the inside.

"Doggonnit!!" I yelled. I pulled out my gun again, but I paused. I might have needed to use my gun again later. I placed it back inside of the holster and I kicked at the door. I yelped when a pain jolted through my ankle. I guess it only worked well in movies…

I tried again. It was on the third try that the doors swung open. It was dark inside, and then I was hit with the cold air that was in there as well. I suddenly wondered how they had gotten the Gundams in there in the first place. My train of thought was interrupted.

"Well, it would've helped if you asked me for the key…" Muttered a voice. Fay was behind me. She was looking at the lock that hung from the bar. My ankle throbbed a little bit once I laid my eyes on the snobby prick. Pardon. Fay was starting to get on my nerves.

"You had a key!?" I yelled. She looked offended and shrugged.

"Yeah. Shaddup and get into your Gundam. We've got a mobile suit to stop." She commanded me. I seethed as I jogged over to the two suits that knelt down before me. Fay pointed to the one to my left. I looked over my Gundam for a few seconds. (So this Gundam now belongs to me, eh?) It was small and streamlined. The mobile suit itself was designed for speed. Its armor was blue, like the uniform I was wearing. And the rest of it was white, save for the red shoulders. It looked real feminine.

"Hilde!" Fay suddenly yelled from her cockpit. Her sharp cry ripped me from the image of my Gundam.

"All right, all right! I'm going!" I said, detesting the look she was giving me. I muttered a few things under my breath as I grabbed the cable that pulled me up.

I looked around the unfamiliar controls and I started to panic a little bit. (Just like the simulator. Just like the simulator.. Just like the simulator…)

Like a shock wave, light spread over the controls as the system turned on. Instantly, I forgot I was Hilde.

I thought I had asked myself who I was right after. I couldn't really remember. It was all a blur. All I knew was that my reply was, ' It didn't matter anymore.'

********

I saw them turn the corner and I decided that was enough. I waited behind another car in front of the building and strained my ears for a sign of something. The warehouse was silent. But it was only a few seconds more before something came crashing out of the roof. I found myself in a shower of glass as the skylights of the roof shattered above me.

I stood there, not even three feet away from it, and watched as I recognized that thing as none other than a mobile suit. More specifically- a Gundam. I was shocked. My expression remained neutral of course, but my heart started thumping in my chest again.

I knew there was going to be another war if we didn't do anything about it. But what could we do? There was nothing we could do without our Gundams. There was nothing we could do to stop this. Damn it all.

My eyes shot toward Heero. He was already facing my direction. We briefly made eye-contact before I took off running. I knew better than to hang around there. I'd be looking like a pancake by the end of the day.

As a third explosion was heard, I knew there was not just one Gundam but actually two.

"Duo!" someone cried. The roar of a motorcycle came up right behind me and slowed to a stop a few yards ahead. The familiar voice rang a small bell in my head. For a moment, confusion was flooding my mind.

"Duo get on!" The boy on the motorcycle removed his helmet to reveal his blonde hair and innocent face. It was Quatre! I didn't believe it for a moment. He was on a bike, and the sight of him in all black leather was a first. Quatre didn't look sixteen at all. He looked more like nineteen!

"Where the did you learn to ride a motorcycle?" I screamed above the motor. He revved up the motor and we shot forward.

"I didn't!" He screamed back. I frowned and thought a moment. He was riding something he didn't even know how to…

"Oh Jeeessuuuusss!!!" I caught myself crying loudly when the front of the bike shot up into the air. It was bad enough Hilde was missing AND Serpent Mobile Suits were attacking the city. And it was bad enough that Gundams just came crashing out from the inside of an abandoned warehouse and now Quatre was popping a wheelie on the bike -while I was on it! Oh man. When everything was over and we were out of there, I had to remind myself to hurt the boy. In the mean time, I was busy clutching his jacket, hanging on for dear life.

His steering was a little jerky, but I got used to it. I had to. What was I going to do? Hop off while we were doing near 70 miles per hour? I don't think so. I may have self-destructed once in the past, but jumping off was just being stupid. (And blowing yourself up is not?) I smirked.

The earth beneath us shook, and Quatre nearly veered off to the side. Evidently, one of the Gundams had leaped above us and landed in front of us. It was a dark-blue tinted Gundam. At first, I thought it was going to pick us up from the ground and reenact a scene from King Kong. But thankfully, it flipped around and started toward the Serpent. There was still another Gundam coming up from behind us. The dark-blue one in front of us was slimmer and more agile while the purple one to our rear was bulky and more for firepower than anything. The larger one passed by us as well, sending tremors throughout the streets around it.

More debris started streaming all over the place, and there was even more fighting as we rode on. Somehow I ignored the fact that I could have been killed moments before and I stare at the battling suits. I watched how they moved, how efficiently they finished the job. I began to wish it was me up there in that mobile suit. Fighting. Just for a moment, so I could lose myself, with my pathetic past, and become the God of Death once again.

Then, Quatre jerked his head up. I noticed this and I looked up ahead as well. The Serpent's cavalry was coming. More mobile suits were coming from the left, straight at us. They fired and an explosion went off dangerously close to us and both me and Quatre went flying. I hit the ground with only seconds more of consciousness. And with those last few seconds I thought of the Navy-blue Gundam and how much it reminded me of Hilde.

Heh. Sorry. That chapter really sucked. . 

Anyway, i hope u guys liked it. hehe. Take care, watch anime, steal some manga. And most important of all...

REVIEW!!!!!!

hehe...

   [1]: mailto:superpinay@hotmail.com



	4. 

Part 4

The Schbeiker Chronicles  
by Shadow@ngel  
Part 4: The Turning Point  
  
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Heeyy pplz! How is everyone! Sorry it took meeh so long to get it out. (But its not like anyone is still reading this anyway. lol. Things'll really get rolling in this chapter. And HEY! Now it's actually got a plot! AHAHAHAHHAHA!!! (Yes... I am insane)).  
_________________________________________________________

I wasn't sure of how much time passed: Hours, minutes. Who knows. God knew I didn't. What do you expect? I totally felt like shit.

I could still hear the loud crashing around me. It was so close, it almost shocked me of how I was still alive. With how frantic it was earlier, I should have been trampled. I left that question to ponder about later when I remembered Quatre. He might have been knocked out or worse. My spine was aching and I could feel a whole mess of bruises all over my body. Quatre was a little bit more easy to injury than I was, considering the many times I have been beat up before.

Ugh. Yes… many many times…Let's just leave it at that.

I quickly got to my feet as best I could. I spotted Quatre in the middle of the road not too far away from me. I nearly crawled over to him, but I got there nonetheless. I gave a quick scan for any injuries. There was nothing serious that I could see.

Grabbing his collar with my good arm, the one that wasn't cut, I slowly dragged him towards the sidewalk. It would be a hazard to be lying in the middle of a clearing like that so near a battle. 

Then again, standing under a building wasn't really a good idea either. If a mobile suit happened to come by and knock it, you'd get the works of flying rubble and debris over the head.

"Hey Quatre, buddy…" I slapped his cheeks lightly, coaxing him into wakefulness. It took him only a few seconds before his eyes finally opened. He moaned and rolled over on to his side. He was clutching his left arm tightly.

"Crap. Quatre. Let me see your arm." I guess I had missed that when I had scanned for any wounds. I didn't know how, though. I must have been the fact that I felt like a rag doll by then. 

"Not just my arm..my leg." He used his other arm to push off his cracked helmet. He must have hit the ground face first because the front was shattered. There was a sliver of blood running down his cheek. A broken piece of the visor on his helmet had probably cut it. He looked horrible.

Then again, I bet if I had looked in the mirror, I would have realized I looked even worse than Quatre. Scrapes all down my face, forehead bleeding, bruises and such everywhere. I think I had a black eye, too. Everything was aching and it hurt like hell.

"Damn, Quatre. You need help. Just how many limbs have you managed to massacre??" I said. He blinked at me.

"Very funny, Duo. Very funny." He said, his voice a little raspy. He struggled to his feet, but only managed to half push himself up from the ground. He had to have some of my help to fully stand. That wasn't very easy either because I could barely stand, myself.

"I can't believe you messed up that outfit…" I said, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't seem to hear my comment. I internally shrugged.

We both looked around for a way out. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the pilots, but they were nowhere in sight. Heero left long ago to take care of Relena. The only person I saw for quite a distance was a dead civilian. 

I felt low. Dammit. More casualties were coming in the future, I knew it. People should've have to die. If anyone had to, I would want it to be me.

But what about Hilde? Would she even care? Well-uh- of course she would! She's my friend... Erm... I dunno... I knew she would care but, would it... I mean... Would she.... Would it mean anything to... damn...

...Hilde...

"DUO!" Quatre yelled. I turned to him questioningly for breaking my train of thought. My question was answered when a shadow came over the two of us, blocking the sun from out view. I finally registered that the shadow was a Serpent. Then my eyes widened as I realized it was falling backwards- toward us. It was going to crush us under it as it hit the ground.

"SHIT!" I cried. "No matter where we run, we won't be able to get out of the way." A pain shot through my leg, zapping me of half my strength. I fell to one knee and Quatre went down with me.

"Duo?"

"Yeah?" He hesitated before saying,

"We're not going to make it this time, are we?"

"..." 

For some reason, I guess I wasn't really afraid I was going to die. I seemed to be a little sad actually. In fact specific thoughts were running through my mind. The only one I can remember thinking was what I would say to Hilde if I had found her before I-

********

Another Serpent went down. They were all the same: Each one had no chance, once pitched against my Gundam. It was so sure that we would claim a victory today.

Then why were we falling back? Our reinforcements had already come in, so I thought that maybe we would finish up this stupid battle and go back home. I mean, home as in the facility. I was dead tired so maybe I had a little more motivation to fight than I usually had. But that still didn't change the fact that we were still losing.

And that's when something inside of me started screaming. Crying out for something. I didn't know what it was crying for, but I knew it was important to me. I blinked.

With a jab of my mech's fist, I finished off another Serpent. A loud creak in the joint of my Gundam reminded me just how much it needed repairs. Its name, I learned, was Stormstriker. And it's system....

It was interesting, because the MindShift System made me feel so much like a machine. No wonder all my emotions were gone. The MindShift system had gathered them and had turned it into poise, judgement, anger and basically made me a… Perfect Soldier, you could say.

I nearly laughed as an image of Heero popped inside my head. 

My thoughts were interrupted as the intercom went on and a picture of Fay inside of her own Gundam came up on my screen. She looked stressed and she sounded exasperated.

"Hilde, what the hell are you doing??" she hissed. "I said fall back! Retreat, you idiot! The battle is lost. What do you think Rolin would say?" I didn't flinch when another picture of someone came up on the screen beside Fay's. It was Rolin.

"_Rolin…_ would probably say for you two to stop bickering and start running for your lives!"

"Hey, where are you, Rolin? Where have you _been!?_" Fay screamed. Rolin sighed. "I've been worried to death about you this whole time and suddenly, you decide to show your face once we're dying and retreating!?"

"Fay calm down. I tried to contact you guys as soon as I could. I'm not even in my mobile suit. I'm at the nearest vid-phone. Luckily I stole the conversion program from Lady Une that lets me tap into the mobile suit com channel. Now you two, listen to me… Stop fighting and meet our team at the arranged rendezvous point."

"Rolin! We can't. It's swarming with serpents. The reason we're running is because our whole team is _dead_! The rally point is gone too. Rolin, we had no idea there was going to be so many! Me and Missy are fighting for our lives."

"That's Schbieker. Not Missy." I said flatly. I just didn't care. I couldn't feel anything. All my emotions were just gone, like that.

My arm jerked on its own and I pushed forward the throttle. Rolin and Fay began to yell at me, but I simply ignored them and blocked out their voices. Before long, they faded away from my consciousness.

Someone was calling me. My instincts were telling me where to go. I could see... everything. It was almost like those little things Heero had told us about when he tried to describe piloting the Zero. 

But of course- I knew the Zero system was much stronger than the Mindshift. 

I ended up zigzagging throughout the skyscrapers, not really knowing where I was going.

I stopped in front of an empty and deserted street where there was a Serpent. It was damaged and on the verge of exploding. A pilot jumped out and abandoned it and he ran off abruptly as the mobile suit began to topple backward. My eyes shot toward the ground where two figures stood frozen under its shadow.

I suddenly had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that they meant a lot to me. 

My Gundam gradually sped up. I wasn't fast enough to stop it from falling… I had to jump for it. I flipped on the thrusters and I threw myself forward. I skid to a stop under the Serpent, my Gundam on its hands and knees above the two civilians.

Then, that was when the Serpent fell onto my back. A wave of pain washed over me.

A slow shock sunk in. I was feeling so much pain. Hey! _Hold on a second!!!_-Since when did the pilot feel what the mobile suit was experiencing? Was I supposed to feel anything at all? Something wasn't right! Not like things were ever really going right since the beginning... but this was dead wrong.

I was the only thing between the two of them and the Serpent. I cursed the two civilians under my breath for not fleeing when the battle had started in the first place. Who would have been stupid enough to stay in the area??

I saw the two scramble, or at least scramble as best they could, out of the way of danger. I smiled and proceeded to push the Serpent off my back.

I had a little difficulty the first try, so I shrugged off some of my worried thoughts and tried again. I pushed off against the ground, trying to shake the mobile suit off me… It didn't work. Panic began to cloud my thoughts when I realized I couldn't. The Mindshift all seemed to disappear and I was alone. I was scared. I wasn't able to get it off me. I cursed. A creaking sound started coming from my mobile suit's arms. They were giving out.

"No…" I whispered.

********

Okay. I didn't know who was in it, or where it came from, but a Gundam had come from around a corner and had saved our lives. It dove under the Serpent, thankfully preventing us from being crushed. And it was especially comforting, for some reason, to find that it was the Gundam I had seen before. The blue one. Yeah- the one that I thought reminded me of Hilde: a lifesaver.

Well, obviously I wasn't going to just stand there, I ran like the dickens. As easy as it sounds, I was having a lot of trouble getting out of there. My legs were killing me. I'd kick myself if I had a twisted ankle. Those suckers bother me the most. Its so small compared to other injuries, but it makes people feel the need to keep me off my feet.

The last thing I expected happened next. An awesome corvette pulled up beside us. And what's more, behind the wheel was none other that Miss Dorothy Catalonia. Don't tell me you weren't shocked. She was the last person who I thought would show up. Heh. Maybe she didn't show up for me…

I smirked at Quatre.

"Quit dawdling and get it!" She yelled. "I went through hell to get here!" I hopped into the back after Quatre stumbled in. When I slammed the door shut, she put the petal to the metal and we zoomed off.

I laid back against the leather chair.

Suddenly I had a sudden urge to turn around and look behind me. So I did. And I turned around to look at the scene behind me. The Navy Blue Gundam was still there. And it wasn't getting out from under the Serpent. It seemed to be having trouble just keeping it up because its arms were shaking violently. I shifted in my seat, and I started whispering to it, almost as if I thought it could hear me.

"Get out. Get out from under there, you stupid fool." It seemed so fragile, the mobile suit. It was almost hard to believe it was built for battle. Sure, it was built for speed and agility. But it still didn't excuse the fact that it seemed too innocent to be a killing machine.

Both me and Quatre were glancing behind us at the scene now. We looked at each other once before our eyes were drawn to it again. As if on cue, it gave out from under the serpent's weight. A cloud of dust and dirt flew up with it. It was literally being crushed under the Serpent. But before I could say anything, we turned the corner and it was out of sight.

"Oh my God," Quatre said aloud. I nodded.

"Tell me about it. I feel sorry for whatever guy was in there. I don't care, enemy or not, that had to suck," I said to him. "Well, buddy. Thanks." I gave a little salute. (Thanks... so much.) I had just been given another chance to find Hilde again. (Heh. Maybe there is a God) I thought half-serious and half-sarcastic.

"Dorothy. Where'd you come from? I mean, I appreciate you coming and 'rescuing' us, but I kinda wanna know why. I doubt you'd come and rescue little old me because you completely and utterly adore me." I was joking, but I guess she took it literally. I made a note to myself to keep that in mind when talking to any Catalonias in the future.

"I didn't. Relena sent me." It didn't phase her one bit as she kept her eyes on the road ahead of her.

"Oh right. And what about your sweetheart, Quatre? Am I to believe you didn't come for him?" Suddenly I was thrown against the door as she swerved violently onto another street to our right.

"Ow! You did that on purpose you stupid b-," And that's when she swerved all over again and I once again found my shoulder knocked against the door. Worse even, I turned to find Quatre grinning like mad and trying to hide it.

"I bet you worship her, too you little puss!" I yelled above the wind at the blonde. Then, I heard an inhuman growl that undoubtedly came from the front of the car in the driver's seat.

********

Ugh. Let me tell you, that when I woke up that morning, I had one hell of a headache. And I didn't know whether it was a miracle or a curse that I woke up in the same bed as the first time I came there. The only difference was the fact that I could hear some faint voices discussing something from outside my door. I groggily sat up and rubbed my head. Hopefully the throbbing and achy feeling would go away soon. If it didn't, then I probably wouldn't make it through the whole day.

I yawned lightly, a little resentful that even yawning had hurt my head. Stumbling toward the door, I suddenly heard my name. I paused and took my hand away from the doorknob. 

That was my chance to know what was going on, my intuition told me. So I held my breath and pressed my ears against the door.

"I don't think we should let her use that system anymore. She went berserk back there in battle. Who knows what she'll do the next time she gets into that Gundam. I for one, do not want to take the chance." The voice I heard was Rolin. I knew right away he was talking to Fay. He was always with her. I felt there was a small fire igniting from the bottom of my heart. I just _hated_ her.

"Rolin. That was her match. The damn computer was supposed to give her some second and third or even fourth best matches along with the Mindshift system."

"But it didn't," said Rolin.

"That's exactly my point, stupid. Maybe there ARE no other system matches for her. Maybe the Mindshift is her only match. Shh- shut up. I know what you're going to say. Listen up until I finish. What I think we should do about this, is test her with some other systems and see which fits her. It doesn't have to be perfect, just match her up with another one. She is a threat to the completion of our mission. Only God knows why Lady Une chose her."

"Fay, don't be an idiot. You know the procedure for that system. Once she uses the Mindshift, she can't be exposed to any others."

"But all the other systems… once you expose them to the system, you can still transfer them to a different one. And they were always all right after."

"The Mindshift was different!" Rolin snapped. I was surprised. I didn't think I had ever heard him use that tone before. Rolin had that type of voice that… it seemed like he wasn't allowed to. He continued in a haughty, but calm enough voice. "The Mindshift is the only exception. The others have one solid procedure and one solid set of rules. The Mindshift is a whole new ballgame. And if Lady Une ever finds out that we're even letting Hilde use it, then we'll be in deep trouble. More than you can imagine. It's in the rules, Fay. Ya gotta play by the rules."

I didn't want to hear anymore, but the conversation seemed to pull me back. "Rolin. Its true. There are rules. And we do have to play by them. And I know we can't break them. But the closest thing to that is bending it. We can try it at dawn tomorrow when Lady Une will be out on another meeting. She won't get out of it until noon."

"Fay, what if something happens to-,"

"Don't be stupid. As long as the girl keeps herself in line, its fine with me…" Fay laughed. "You've really got it bad for her, don't you?? This … girl… she's off limits, Rolin. And you know duty comes first. You damn well know that duty will always come first with this organization."

"I know... but I DO NOT like her. She's just a little cute, that's all I said to you. I never said anything else about liking her."

"You are one sad puppy, Rolin. One sad little puppy." There a small pause and then she spoke again. This time her voice had changed "Go wake her up. She's been laying around all morning. Time to get off her butt and work." She walked away, the tapping of her heels following her as she left.

My ear was pressed hard up against the door, straining to listen for any sounds of what he was going to do next. What I got was Rolin grabbing the doorknob and turning it.

I seriously didn't know how I did it, but I managed to rush over to my bed, get under the covers and pretend to be asleep before he walked in. Luckily, he fell for it and he shuffled over to the side of my bed. He reached over and shook me lightly, not knowing I was already awake.

He hadn't known I had been listening. Or at least I hope…

"Hilde. Hey Hilde. Wake up…" Rolin waited. I started to open my eyes, but when my intuition kicked in again, I shut them. Rolin sighed, trying a few more times, and when that didn't work, he turned and left me to myself. The door closed behind him, and I waited until I couldn't hear his footsteps before I got up from bed.

I threw off my blankets and panicked. (Oh Jesus. What's going on! If I don't get out of here, they're going to kill me!) she thought. (Damn it. This is going too far. I don't give a crap whether the world is at stake or not. If I die before I can fight, then what's the use!?)

"Oh Duo…" I said unconsciously. "Please help me…" I opened the door and poked my head out into the hallway. "If I don't get out of here, then…. I just had better get out of here soon. Just a little bit longer… just a little bit longer." I told myself.

********

"Serpents?" Asked Relena.

"Serpents _and_ Gundams." I said. There was a little murmuring as I finished. The group was again gathered in our private meeting place: An old abandoned warehouse we had sort of doctored up so that it didn't look as dreary. Well the girls had doctored it up, anyway. It was evident from the various paintings of flowers and rose-filled baskets. 

Oooohhh the dreaded color pink surrounded me…the horror- the horror…

Relena pulled the coat around her tighter and sniffled. It was chilly in the room. I was pretty cold myself. So, I briefly took the time to wonder how Heero survived in such cold weather in a tank top. Sure he had suffered much worse atmospheres, but a guy could only handle so much! Speaking of that, how did he survive that battle in Antarctica!?

I was shaken from my odd natured thoughts when Wufei spoke up.

"All of the Gundams, were self-destructed. All of you saw to that. Not to mention, we all made sure that the documents having anything to do with the construction and system-management were deleted long ago. So, how could anyone possibly get their hands on them?" Wufei's answer came from Heero who was working on his laptop that he had brought when we first found the warehouse.

"Someone on the inside." Another batch of mumbling and shocked, surprised replies.

"What?" Relena stepped up behind Heero and placed her palm on his shoulder by ... let's just say by reflex. And Heero suspiciously shifted in his chair. I smirked, but kept quite a sharp remark to myself. "Heero, what do you mean by this?"

"Only someone with substantial power could take these. They knew that the files were going to be destroyed and they acted in due time. The files were stolen before we were able to get rid of them. I've just accessed a local mainframe. Apparently someone had browsed through the system and made a backup copy. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the location of the back-up."

"So… the back-up copy's screwing us over. What about that 'someone.' Any info on that?" Heero nodded and he clicked on a file on the computer. A picture file pulled up of a young woman with fiery red hair. It was pulled up tightly in a pony-tail with bangs that went past her chin.

"Her. Her alias is Leona Tiernan. I haven't been able to find her real name. I'll be able to find who it is in about an hour or two. These profiles are encoded with a program I've never seen before. So far, all that we know is that she's from the Preventers." We were all a little surprised at that. Especially Noin.

"Preventers?" Noin said. She shook her head. "No. It couldn't be. Believe it or not, but I know each and every Preventer by name. None of them are capable of such…"

"Well, whether you want to believe it or not, it's right here." Heero said. Noin rubbed her forehead, as if a headache had suddenly struck her. The shock was evident on her face.

"Shit." She walked up beside Relena. "Who could have done this? I can't believe anyone from the Preventers could have done this."

"I'll still need time to find who she really is."

"'Zat so?" I said. Heero grunted.

"That doesn't mean I won't be able to crack it. Give me time." Our short-lived quarrel was interrupted by Relena. As soon as she started speaking, both me and Heero gave her our whole attention.

Hm. I guess it must have been how urgent she sounded.

"Heero." He paused and turned to Relena who suddenly seemed a little pale. She frowned and shook her left hand furiously. "Quick. Do you have an expo marker, you know the one you can rub off?" Heero sorted through the drawers of a cabinet to his left and pulled out one. Relena abruptly grabbed it, popped off the cap and started drawing on the screen.

The rest of the group stood in silence, slowly figuring out what Relena was unfolding.

"Glasses?" asked Noin. Both her and Noin leaned in close and realization began to seep in. The next person to speak was me and I nearly fell out of my chair when I did.

"Lady Une!?"

********

I treaded silently down the hall. If I could just get out, I might be able to find my way home and I'd finally be free. My choices were limited. Stay, be experimented on and fight for peace. Or go home, live, and go back to my apartment. I chose the second.

But the problem was, I didn't get very far. Before I knew what was happening, I turned the corner and bumped into some guy. That person, unfortunately, turned out to be Rolin. I went down and landed on my hip bone. So I proceeded to rub my buttnot giving a care that I looked like a complete idiot. Rolin barely seemed phased by our little run in.

(Damn damn _DAMN!_) I yelled at myself for being so careless. I had been in such a hurry to get away from that place that I had forgotten to listen in for any suspicious noises. _And _that included footsteps of the one person I was trying to avoid!!

"Hilde. I thought you were still asleep." Rolin reached out his hand to help me up from the floor. I nervously stared at it for a few moments before shakily grabbing it and letting him lift me up onto my feed. My voice was gone, so I just nodded. "Hm. I guess that's okay. You've been scheduled for some additional training." I nodded again, knowing that the 'additional training' meant the Mindshift system and the matter with the rules and procedures.

"Come with me." He said. I cursed silently and forced myself to follow Rolin into the next room. I felt a sudden fear build up in the bottom of my stomach. I knew that this wasn't going to be good.

Not at all.

Finally, we were back inside the simulation room where I had so feared. I kept wondering. If I had waited a bit longer before sneaking out… would I have been caught? If I had tried to sneak out earlier, would I have been caught? What if I had pretended to sleep longer- would there have been another opportunity? More 'If only I had' kind of thoughts came to me during that short time we walked toward the simulation room. 

It felt almost as if I was on Death Row and was walking the Green Mile.

And to make things worse, the room seemed a lot darker and so much bigger than the first time I had been there. It must've been the fact that I had the knowledge I might die in no more than a few minutes.

I started to unconsciously pray. I was scared as hell. Never really prayed much before. But I guess I needed the comfort of something definite, true and something I knew by heart. The only time I prayed was once, when I was in the Vaye-eight. And that more like, _'If I don't make it, please let Duo live.'_.

I stopped the prayer when Rolin asked about my mechanical mumbling.

"Hey Hilde. Ya ready to go?" Fay came out from behind the control panel. She wasn't looking me straight in the eye. But even so, I was looking straight into hers. Her eyes had a maniacal glare within them. And for once, I didn't resent or hate her. I was suddenly afraid of her. And I didn't like it.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I whispered. The smile she had on her face faded a bit when she got a good look at my expression. She knew. That I knew. And it worried her.

It wasn't like I could do anything about it though, was there? Everything happening was out of my power to stop. It was almost like that time Duo had to leave to fight Mariemaea. Totally helpless… Jesus. I had tried to forget that feeling for such a long time.

"C'mon." She said, her voice a little colder than usual. Rolin grabbed my hand and pulled me over to one of the machines. And he opened the small door, mentioning for me to get in. Rolin didn't speak. He was completely silent. And so was I. And it was because I was feeling desperate again.

"This is different from the usual simulator that I usually train in. Why?" Rolin still didn't answer. He didn't even ask Fay to answer. But Fay, sensing the atmosphere, did anyway.

"Just think of it as an an upgrade."

I got inside, my heart pounding so loud that I almost thought that Rolin had heard it. And from the look on his face, I think he did.

As I sat down inside of the simulator, I reached over to the visor on my left and slipped it on, trying to hide how badly I was shaking. I saw almost relieved when he closed the door. And I waited in the dark until the first signs of the simulator starting up happened.

Voices outside continued a short discussion before the screen lit up. At first, when the screen booted up, I felt nothing. It was the usual energy that usually flowed through me when I used the MindShift. But then, seconds after the screen lit up, my head spun and a dizzying feeling began to flood into my head. It felt as if it was flowing from my visor, so that odd feeling sort of took over my logic.

Excruciating shock waves started radiating from the visor and I was yelling and screaming as I clawed at the visor. This left me panicked and with all the pain, I was fumbling with detaching it from my head. I began to kick at the door and I could hear Rolin struggling, trying to open it from the other side.

"Roolliinn!" I screamed. Suddenly, I became confused and I started babbling and mumbling about things I didn't even understand myself. Worse yet, all of my thoughts were just as disfigured. I don't think they expected such a reaction from me. 

(Y.. Duo! Hel-uo! Free-om- hate yo- Rolin, back- free- get ou- Pleas- help. Duo..? …I don't think I can't see you anymore…)

Then…just a light, soft feeling of happiness overtook the pain. The door finally opened and I fell onto the floor. I laughed softly and smiled as the pain faded. But so did the feeling in my fingers and my toes. I was… numb. Just numb. But it was nice. The last clear image was of Rolin mouthing some words.

"I'm sorry…" he said. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

********

(Hilde?) I thought. I looked out of the window. It was raining, but the sunlight still managed to penetrate through the dark clouds. Those days were rare. But I didn't take the time to bask in it and enjoy it because I had a horrible feeling again.

My reaction to that was to run outside, but I was only halfway when I suddenly felt my ankle get caught on something. I hit the floor face-first.

I sat up, only to find a sharp pain shooting through my ankle.

"Aw Ssshiii-eeetttt!" I hissed loudly, firmly grabbing my foot. "Holy Crap that hurt!" Damn it. Now I _knew_ I had a sprained ankle! Damn damn damn damn _damn_!! This was exactly what I knew was going to happen. Every time I had opened my big mouth, something would always come true.

With all my strength, I hit the ground with my fist. I immediately regretted it, because my knuckles started bleeding real bad. God, this is all because of Hilde. Had she been here, I wouldn't have gone crazy at all. It was insane.

I had never gone so long without her. Sure I had been away for a while during the war, but I had always known where she was and if she was okay or not. I had always felt that she was okay. Here, I wasn't sure of anything anymore! Not even how I felt about her! God!! Wasn't there _anything_ I could do to help!?

Wait a minute… How I felt.. ??

"Duo! Stop it!" Noin came over to me and looked at my hand. She pulled out her handkerchief and started dabbing off the blood. It stung a little bit and I winced. Great. Just great. Me, a Gundam Pilot, crying over a little cut. Things were just peachy.

The phone rang. Catherine nodded and jogged over to the telephone. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Damn it, I wish there was something I could _do!!" _I said quietly. I think someone from up above heard me, because Catherine held her hand over the receiver and called Noin over. Noin gave the handkerchief to Catherine who took over taking care of me. I stood impatiently as Catherine chastised me for being so careless with myself. I grunted in reply.

Noin's expression in the midst of the conversation. Her eyes widened and a smile nearly broke out. "Uh-huh. I understand. Yeah. I'll call you in a few minutes…this is great. …No. You have my full permission. I want you to confiscate those and bring them to the hanger… yes… okay. Bye." Most everyone was looking at her as she hung up the phone.

"That was Sally on the phone. She says that she's just arrested an independent group of terrorists." Said Noin.

"Are those the ones who attacked the city last night?"

"No. They're two completely different groups. But the good news is that that particular group of people recently had purchased illegal blueprints of mobile suits and had begun construction. And by this I mean Leos, Serpents and-,"

"Wait a minute." I interrupted her. "Are you going to say what I think you're going to say?" A grin, a smirk and a soft laugh.

"Yeah. I am. Leos, serpents …and Gundams." I clenched my good fist. Now we finally had a fighting chance. After that whole peace revolution thing people did, I didn't think we'd be able to fight. Y'see, before Relena had denounced her throne, she made an agreement with the colonies and the various other corporations that all mobile suits with the sole objective of hostile nature were to be destroyed. And surprisingly, it worked. Until a while ago when those Serpents had run loose and wreaked complete havoc.

Well it was about time we stopped sitting around like idiots and time we started fighting.

********

I didn't really get the chance to know them. They were always a mystery to me, seeing as they died before I turned six.

My parents, I mean. A lot of kids had the luxury of running home and being spanked by mommy for bad behavior. Oz dished out a lot more than the slap on the wrist. Things like breaking your wrist is more like it. So you can definitely say that I grew up kind of independent. Sure… I was just a cadet. But hey- who said getting promoted was easy. Most recruits would quit before the higher rankers would even _consider_ promoting anyone.

I guess the only reason I really stayed in the army was because I didn't really have anywhere else to go. I _was_ just about to be promoted, but that whole 'helping the gundam pilot escape thing' really screwed me over. Heh.

It was kind o' nice to reminisce about my parents and all. It feels nice to know I at least had them, once. And the reason I had time to wonder about things was that I was too lazy and in too much pain to get out of bed.

Once again… I was in the bed. Ruffled hair, bags under the eyes… the works.

How long had I been out? There was never a time that I had ever felt more like crap. My neck was aching and all my muscles were excruciatingly sore. I had a headache. My ears hurt. Man. It was almost like I had just finished one hell of a marathon. 

I couldn't even remember what had happened with how bad it was. Nothing. Everything was a complete blank. White spots everywhere. And lemme tell you I was _not_ in the mood to watch little white blurs zip around in front of my closed eyes.

I guess you could say I felt a little loony, because I started swatting at them.

"Go away, Goddammit!" I yelled. I didn't expect to actually get one of those little white dots, so when my hand hit something with a hard 'whap' my eyes definitely popped open. The dot turned out to be a boy with soft amber eyes. It was Rolin.

Rolin held his cheek which was now turning completely red because of me. I giggled and whispered an apology.

"I'm sorry…" I said and I reached out my hand and placed it over his red cheek. He grabbed my hand halfway and leaned closer.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked. He looked really worried. Hm… maybe he really did have a little crush on me. I didn't mind. He was kinda nice. For a guy I mean. All the guys I've pretty much ever known have been jerks, fakers or jokers. Rolin didn't seem to fit into any of those categories. Hm. Maybe that's why he was so cool.

"I'm fine. Why?" I said.

"You… kind of panicked in the simulator," He said. I frowned. What was he talking about? I couldn't recall anything happening. I remembered using the simulator, but I couldn't remember anything after the door closed behind me.

"I did?"

"Yeah. You did. And you really, really scared me. You started screaming for someone," he said. "Me and Fay didn't know what to do. This never happened before…oh… and Lady Une's gonna be here in a few hours. And I need you to keep quiet about this okay?"

"Why?" My voice was a little raspy. Like I had been yelling. I guess something like that really had happened. I really did want to remember it. But I dunno, because if it _was_ as bad as Rolin made it sound…

"Just do it," he said gently.

"I understand… but what were you talking about. Who was I screaming for?" I asked. And then he replied with 'Some person named Duo.' I laughed out loud. Duo… what a funny name.

"Duo? Naw… I don't think I've ever met anyone by that name."

A single memory returned to me that afternoon. One I never knew I lost. It was about that conversation Fay and Rolin had before they took me to the simulator. And that's when I remembered just how much danger I was being put in just being with those two.

They were curious about things. And it wasn't exactly the healthiest thing to be around them, if you know what I mean. It was downright scary to know how much influence Fay had over Rolin. And what she said to him didn't even make any sense! Jesus.. I needed to get out of there. If not for my physical well being then maybe for my sanity. The creepy place was stating to fry my nerves.

I had finally gotten the break I was waiting for when Lady Une returned from her meeting. I managed to break away from the two as they made their way downstairs to greet her. I slunk off into a dark hallway unnoticed, and they both continued on their way to see her.

Since the lobby was probably blocked off by a couple of guards, I took it into notice that I would have to find another way out of the building. A back entrance maybe. But after that, it would be chaos because I didn't even know where this place was. For all I knew, area 51 could be right smack dab next to this place! Man…

I sort of wandered a little bit, hoping something would look familiar. But of course, nothing did. Everything was _unfamiliar_ and to make it worse, just about everything looked exactly the same no matter which way I turned.

I hissed at myself for not thinking things over before I decided to split. Argh… sometimes I could be so...so...so _stupid!!_

In the midst of my self criticism, I noticed a partly open door. My curiosity got the best of me and I tiptoed over to the door and peeked.

It was a cozy little room. A bedroom, almost. There was a beautifully finished vanity on the left wall. And of course, there was the bed. On that bed was a young girl, reading a book. A guard was standing over her, watching her. She didn't look too happy with him hovering over her.

"You can't keep me here forever you know. I don't know who you people are, but you can bet you'll be charged with kidnapping! You're all going to jail!" She said to the guard. The guard laughed at her. You know… that kid sounded a lot like me when I first came to this place. Then, I realized something.

(Wait a minute!) I thought. (That must be Mary Anne!) Mary Anne Peacecraft... I don't really know what possessed me to do so, but I suddenly felt an urge to help her out. She didn't deserve to be cooped up here like I was. Who knew what those bastards were going to do to her. Just look at what they did to me.

I silently opened the door and crept up behind him. Mary Anne noticed me and her eyes widened. And obviously the guard saw this and turned around. As his eyes fell over me, I froze.

"Hey – I haven't seen you around before. You new?" he asked. I stopped in my tracks and stood up stiffly to face him. I hesitated a moment, and then nodded, trying to play it down as one of their soldiers. Technically I was, so I didn't need to worry about that.

"They recruited me few weeks ago. Today's my first day." I said. My voice was shaking. Crap. I was hoping he wouldn't notice. The turned away and sneezed. I gave a quick wink at Mary Anne. I thought she had gotten the hint because she had eyed me a little closer.

The soldier frowned. "This is a tight organization. We don't recruit." I cursed as he pointed his gun at me, knowing that I wasn't there to take the next shift.

"Shit!" I cried and I darted forward, tackling him to the ground. A loud shot ran out and I winced as I realized people were probably going to check it out in a few minutes. But thankfully, in a tangle of arms and legs, the gun flew out of his hands and landed at Mary Anne's feet. Unfortunately, he got the upper hand, got on top of me and he hit me a couple of times in the jaw. Okay… so the rescue attempt didn't go as planned. It just wasn't my day.

Suddenly the thought of having to face Lady Une, Rolin and Fay again sort of gave me a little bit more strength than I thought I had. I couldn't face them again. I think… I think I hated them all…

I managed to pull my wrist out from under his grasp and I hit him with a right hook. Then, I did the next most painful thing I could think of. I threw out my leg and hit him _low_. Bingo, the guy went down. I took this time to run over to the gun- which turned out to be a rifle. He attempted to get up from the floor, but I didn't give him the chance. But neither did I have the heart to kill anyone at that point, so I simply knocked him out with the butt of the gun.

He hit the floor with a heavy thud. He didn't get up.

"Ugh… dipshit…" I muttered to unconscious the guard. I got myself to my feet, and wiped away the blood that was trickling down my face on my stiff uniform sleeve. There was an incredible silence as Mary Anne stared at me blankly. She had no idea who I was, so I couldn't really blame her for her loss of words.

"Er… uh… Hey," I said. It sounded stupid, but what the hell else was I going to say? Hi, I was just trying to escape and I decided to drop in and save your ass? I don't think so…

"Hey." She replies cautiously. "Thanks.. I think. But if you don't mind me asking-Who are you?"

"All you need to know is that I'm getting you out of here and that you don't need to stay here any longer," I said to her, and she somehow managed to accept my answer. She threw down the book and I took her hand, leading her out of the room. We were practically home free…

… But uh…Hehe… Now... 

...Of I could only find my way out…

Soooo? Whadda ya think?? Oh.. Yes- the Green Mile was that long hallway that people on Death Row walked down when doing to the electric chair in the old days. They call it that because the people who walked it had thought said that seemed like they were walking a mile instead of a few hundred yards. So yeah. (That made no sense at all) O well. Take care! AND REVIEW!!!


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